


Digitized

by UmbraTsuki



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 18:09:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15612015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmbraTsuki/pseuds/UmbraTsuki
Summary: When Cloud Strife, a rather quiet young man, decided to grab a cup of coffee before a long night of studying that awaited him, he hadn’t expected to run into one of those hyper-realistic androids he’d heard about.But when his friendly, and admittedly very attractive, barista had gone into the back of the kitchen, he heard some of the other customers whispering...Written as a one-shot for Clack Week 2018 on Tumblr, but will likely be continued.





	Digitized

**Author's Note:**

> So I've definitely consumed/heard about enough android/robot AU-type universes that "Android AU" caught my attention right away... have to admit to Chobits, Black Mirror, and Ghost In the Shell being influences, as well as movies like Short Circuit and A.I.... the trope is really interesting.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy! (And if you're ever looking for a series/movies to watch... I highly recommend the above!)

These days, it wasn’t uncommon for people to transfer the personalities and memories of their loved ones into a robot’s AI to bring them back to life, in a sense. People could also purchase brand new ones, new beings, but it seemed almost more common that these robots were being used as desperate attempts to prolong the apparent lifetime of family, friends, or lovers. 

The robots varied in appearance. Some were so life-like that they could hardly be differentiated from humans, only discernible thanks to the various device ports on the back of their necks— easily hidden with the right attire. Their behavior, generally, gave them away in those cases, as there were certain ways humans acted that the robots couldn’t quite imitate. Others looked completely robotic, steel and bolts making up their entire appearance, but if you closed your eyes, their conversation would feel the same as talking to a human.

Sometimes robots would be thrown away. Usually beaten and smashed so they wouldn’t be functional. Generally, they were thrown away when they didn’t meet expectations and their purchasers were desperate to run away from what they then believed was a mistake. Sometimes they’d do so carelessly enough that the robots were completely intact. Occasionally another human would come and essentially adopt them, or the robot themself might walk off and live as if they were human again. Or the robot may remain there, eventually “dying” as their power supply ran out. Regardless, it seemed the robots truly felt things about what happened, as some had begun publicly speaking about feelings of dejection and shame when realizing they’d been thrown out.

Overall, many of the robots lived peacefully among humans, including those robots creating new lives for themselves. Though most technically belonged to whichever human owned them, some were given free reign enough to act as ordinary people.

When Cloud Strife, a rather quiet young man, decided to grab a cup of coffee before a long night of studying that awaited him, he hadn’t expected to run into one of those hyper-realistic androids he’d heard about. In fact, he’d been skeptical enough to think those were mere rumors, so he barely believed it was possible to meet one at all. According to rumor, the especially realistic robots tended to stay in the upper-class neighborhoods, as those were the people most likely to afford purchasing and maintaining such models in the first place. The small, local café Cloud frequented definitely didn’t seem the type of place to have such technology.

But when his friendly, and admittedly very attractive, barista had gone into the back of the kitchen, he heard some of the other customers whispering about how “Did you know that boy is a robot?” and “I’d heard his parents couldn’t bear to lose him when he passed away recently.”

Cloud thought they must have been crazy. The barista came back fairly quickly, a big grin on his face and bright blue eyes contrasting his raven hair. He didn’t seem at all like a robot. He even winked at Cloud when he passed the drink over, and Cloud felt his face heat up at the gesture. The nametag on the barista’s apron read “Zack,” and Cloud made a mental note to remember that as he thanked Zack for the drink.

Wanting to find out if the rumors were true, Cloud did a quick internet search for “Zack death” with his town’s name. The name was generic enough that he figured it would be too hard to find anything out and he could give up quickly, but of course the first result was about a young man named Zack Fair who had agreed to being transferred to a robot when he learned his body wouldn’t last much longer after a bad accident. He reasoned that he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving his parents alone so early. Sure enough, the picture in the article matched the face of the barista Cloud had met earlier that day.

Oddly enough, the knowledge that Zack was an android wasn’t enough to deter Cloud. He found himself thinking about him fairly often, wanting to find out more. Drawn by some inexplicable force, Cloud found himself at the same café the very next evening, pleased to see that the same barista was on shift and seemed just as bright as he’d been the day prior. In fact, Cloud became a regular customer, at that point, coming every night just to see if Zack was there. Some days, of course, the man had the night off, but Cloud figured out that the night shift was the barista’s norm, so he kept going at the same time daily. 

“Hey! It’s my favorite blond!” Zack greeted, as he’d begun doing each time Cloud came in. “The usual for you?”

“Sounds good,” Cloud confirmed with a nod. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around how someone with such a smooth voice and beautiful features could belong to a _robot_ , but—

“I’ll have it right out!” The smile on his face was as bright as ever. “That’s four twenty-five— thank you,” his head bowed slightly when Cloud handed him the money. Exact change, since he’d got the routine down by now. “Hey, also,” Zack lowered his voice. “I, uh... I know you usually head out, but I’ll be on break soon if you wanna talk or anything. No pressure of course!” His smile seemed apologetic, and he rushed off to get Cloud’s order.

Cloud, not expecting extra interaction with the man anytime soon, was caught off-guard, but his curiosity had taken over long ago. He knew he couldn’t refuse the offer. Once he got his drink, he sat at one of the seats by the window, looking out at the street and just observing everything.

“Sorry that took a while,” came the familiar voice after about twenty minutes. Zack gestured to the seat next to Cloud. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

The blond shook his head. “Go ahead,” he answered. He wondered if Zack had anything particular to say. Up close, there was definitely something a little less human about him, but Cloud couldn’t tell if his observation was a good or bad thing.

Taking the seat, Zack let out a small sigh. All his mannerisms seemed so _human_. “You’re a student, right?” He nodded toward the bag Cloud had on the table. “Seems like you work hard... I always see you in here at night. Late nights studying, I’m guessing?”

“Something like that,” Cloud shrugged. There hadn’t actually been much studying, and half the time he didn’t even finish the drink he ordered, but there was no way he’d admit that. “Plus you have good coffee here.”

“I always thought so, too,” Zack grinned. He then looked out the window, averting his gaze from Cloud’s for a moment. “I just never thought I’d see you again.”

“What do you mean?” The blond tilted his head slightly in confusion. He supposed many customers only came once, but why wonder about him specifically?

“Well, we met once before,” Zack explained. The blond’s face was a total blank, so he continued. His apologetic smile was back. “I guess you might not remember... I think I was ten, and it was at some park that was having a mini-carnival of some sort.” Zack paused. “I’m not sure how old you were, but there’s no way I could forget your spiky blond hair.” He looked back at Cloud as he said the last part, his tone changing to a playful one.

Not remembering this, however, Cloud frowned. “Sorry... I don’t remember,” he shook his head as he spoke. He offered a small smile, though. Perhaps the barista was right. “You must have a good memory.”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Zack laughed a bit. “Kind of got a photographic memory.”

“Right,” Cloud responded, then pondered for a moment. “Because of the robot thing?”

The barista froze, hesitating. “Guess I couldn’t hide that, huh?” If it were possible, Zack’s face looked sad, for a moment. “Yeah, makes it easier to look through my memories.” He smiled again. “But even if it weren’t for that, I never forgot you! Some memories, the ones really far back that I couldn’t remember before, even I can’t recall them now.” 

“Hmm,” Cloud thought on this for a moment. The whole robot thing was a total mystery to him. This could all be a bunch of lies. He didn’t remember anything about the prior meeting Zack mentioned, after all. But considering how reliable his own childhood memory was, that didn’t mean much. Something made him feel more inclined to believe this stranger. “Can you tell me more about the day we met?”

Zack’s smile widened instantly. “Of course!”

He delved right in, telling in astonishing detail the story of how young Cloud and Zack had run into each other at the carnival, waiting in line to get tickets for the rides and activities. Cloud was a couple years younger, only 8 at the time, and he was right behind Zack in line. Zack had just been about to walk off after getting his tickets when he heard the blond boy behind him starting to get upset about something. Zack didn’t know what had happened, but he turned around and offered some of his tickets to the boy. The blond’s face instantly lit up, and Zack could never forget that. He saw Cloud around town occasionally after, but never approached him.

Cloud listened to the story intently, watching the way Zack’s lips moved as he spoke and how his expression and tone changed so naturally. He seemed so human, and yet... On the other hand, the story he told did sound familiar, and Cloud felt a bit bad that he never remembered the face of the boy that had made his day back then. At that time, his mother hadn’t been able to afford enough tickets for him to go on more than one ride. He tried not to be upset about it, knowing how hard his mom worked, but as an 8-year-old, it was hard. 

“Zack!” Another voice interrupted the conversation. One of his co-workers, a young lady. “Let’s get back to work, yeah?”

“Sorry! I’ll be right there!” Zack turned back to Cloud after responding to his colleague. “Sorry, guess I lost track of time. I’ll talk to you again soon, though!”

“See you soon,” Cloud agreed, nodding in response. 

As he watched the barista walk off, he felt a lingering sense of longing, or something of the sort. Just the same as the past few weeks, he couldn’t stop thinking about the man’s smile, his vibrant blue eyes, the fond expression he seemed to wear (or was he imagining that?), and everything else about him. He had confirmation now that Zack was a robot, no denying that anymore, but everything about him still felt so warm.

He needed to see him more.

A small plan forming in his mind, Cloud jotted his phone number onto a napkin. He glanced around, relieved that the café wasn’t too busy. Despite that, he still didn’t have the confidence to directly approach someone as attractive as Zack Fair, so he simply folded the napkin and wrote “To: Zack” on the outside.

Leaving it at his table, Cloud started to head out the door, and Zack caught his eye and grinned widely at him before he made it out. Cloud managed a flustered smile back before leaving quickly, not daring to look back.

He just hoped things would work out.


End file.
